Issabellan Academy
by iwannago2issabellan
Summary: Harry looses faith in Dumbledore’s judgement and morals. He begins to change his plans regarding his future. This new school he has never heard of might be what he needs. Will probs be SLASH, but not yet. No DH, told by Sirius from beyond the veil.R
1. Recieving the letter

Sorry guys. so i finished school now and decided that i couldnt continue writing this story the way it is. I will actually update it now, however before any new chapters come i am re-writing the ones that I have already posted. There will be some changes in plot but not many, i am rewriting mainly because i read it and was like... this is a pile of shit... sorry to have subjected you to it. hopefully this is better. let me know which version you liked better.

After falling through the veil Serious found himself falling through a hole of darkness, he had no concept of time, nothing to mark his progress downwards with.

* * *

I looked around desperately trying to figure out where I was, what happened to Harry? Is everything alright at the Department of Mysteries; it must be. Damn it!!! How could I have possibly let Bellatrix best me like that; Prongslet needs me!! I NEED to find him – I search all around the darkness trying to find a way out. After a while a flash of bright light engulfs the hole, brightening everything. Along with the sudden shock of light, loud voices surround me, echoing through the hole I'm falling through. Frantically I start pushing towards where the light emanated from, but something is pushing back, like a wind tunnel, refusing to let me closer. As suddenly as it started the hole was empty, silent and dark again; I resume falling through the darkness with no idea where I am going and just knowing that somehow I need to get back to my Harry.

After a while, I'm not sure how long the sudden light floods the hole again and the voices start up, this time I think I can recognise Jamsies voice, and I swear that was Mooney... desperately I resume my battle against the wind and frantically try to reach the point where the light and sound were flooding from – I know this is my ticket out of this damned hole!!!

After an interminable amount of time another shock of light engulfs the hole I'm falling through; except this time I can only hear one voice – That's Harry!!! I need to get out, again I resume the frenetic struggle towards his voice – this time the sound of Prongslet urges me on and my desperation almost consumes me, adding an almost supernatural strength to my efforts and I reach the tunnel of light. Immediately the wind buffeting against me, pushing me back, changes direction and I am being sucked through a blindingly light tube, almost like dust through a vacuum cleaner. I have no control over where I am going or what is happening, just shooting forwards at a sickening speed! I can no longer hear Harry's voice, what if it was a trick??? Did I just do the opposite thing to what would help me reach Harry!!! Again I stir against the direction of the wind, battling with all I have in me, trying to push my weary, exhausted muscles harder than I have before...

The next thing I realize I am waking up, sprawled across the hard wooden floor of what is obviously a muggle house!!! Bewildered I stand up, my aching muscles protest as I investigate the room I have found myself in. Looking around I realise it is a tiny room! There is barely enough room for the desk and rusty old camp bed stuffed into it, astonished I look at the bare patch of floor – no way was there enough room for me to have lain on the floor there!!! Light is shining through the single, dirty window in the room, illuminating a big, thick, Remus like text book sitting on top of the desk. Now ordinarily I would have just ignored such a large book and apparated to somewhere Harry might be. That is why I went towards the light after all!!!

Went towards the light...

Oh MY GOD!!! Am I dead??? I can't be!! I still need to help Harry!!!!! I can't be dead, that means he's all alone!!!!

My freak-out is interrupted by the door to the room slamming open, right through me! I am after all standing in the only clear space in the room; I guess it makes sense that that is where the door opens. A tall, lanky teenager with a shock of scruffy black hair walks in, muttering beneath his breath about horsey aunts, walrus for an uncle and a baby elephant for a cousin. Shocked I stagger back so I am on the other side of the door and gaze, shocked at said mumbling teenager!!

What the hell is Harry doing in this dump??? Fuck, I realise I must have somehow arrived at his Aunt and Uncles place in Privet Drive! Relief floods me and I turn towards Harry to embrace him, hang on, why hasn't he seen me before now???? The answer comes as I reach towards Harry and fall right through him.

Harry can't see me, or feel me!!! I start yelling at the top of my voice, harry doesn't even flinch, bugger, he can't hear me either! Damn it, how the hell am I supposed to help him if he has no freaking clue that I'm here????

Meanwhile Harry stands up and approaches the scruffy, torn calendar hanging on the wall and crosses off what is presumably today's date. This catches my attention and alarmed I spin around and stare flabbergasted at the calendar. Today is the 30th of July 2007???? That would mean that tomorrow is Harry's seventeenth birthday!!!!!

But hang on a second I demand angrily – he was only 15 at the Department of ministry. Harry runs his hand through his hair wearily and picks up the massive text that was sitting on his desk; I read the title of the spine:

"Creature inheritances and what to expect"

I wander around behind him and read the paragraph of text that he seems to be focussing on;

"On a magical creatures seventeenth birthday they receive their inheritance. This means that they acquire the characteristics typical of their breed.

For example a veela does not come into their powers fully until their seventeenth birthday; until the veela comes of age, while they possess some characteristics typical of their breed, such as overwhelming beauty; they are incapable of controlling their allure.

After a creature has received their inheritance they are then regarded as a mature adult physically and as such, at this age, certain breeds of magical creature will be compelled to find their mate."

Confused I look up from what I am reading, but James or Lily didn't have a creature inheritance, I'm sure of it. How could harry have one when I'm positive these things are genetic?? I sit there considering this for a while and Harry reads on.

Suddenly I look up, my attention drawn by the thud of the book falling from Harrys hands to rest on the floor. I stand and watch him sleeping, his face looks so serene, all of the troubles etched onto his face during the day fade at night, as he relaxes and gently falls into his dreams. I reach out to take off his glasses, but an inundated with waves of irritation and frustration as I am reminded again of how useless I am to Harry as I am. I can do nothing to help, powerless to do anything other than watch as Harrys life unfolds before him. I sit down on the bed next to him and simply watch him sleep for a while, then my attention is drawn once again to the calendar hanging on the wall across the room; 2007!! Again I feel useless as I realise I have no idea what has happened in the last two years of my godsons life. I resolve to find out and stand to start looking through the papers sitting on top of his desk, part of me knows that if Harry knew I was thinking of going through his letters he might be slightly ticked off, but I hope he would understand that this is the only way I will get to know what he has been through. Bitterly I say to myself "it's not as if I can ask him..."

As I approach the desk my thoughts are interrupted by the sound of Harry shifting uncomfortably in his sleep. Swiftly I spin around, my train of thought thoroughly diverted as I hurry to see if Harry is alright, wondering what nightmare haunts him tonight.

Harry is lying in his bed, shifting restlessly in his sleep, sweat gathering on his forehead, a frown marring his face. I stand by his bed murmuring comforting words through the night, trying to help him settle down back into the peaceful sleep from earlier that night. I know Harry can't hear me, but he seems to relax into the sound of my voice; maybe I am imagining things. At around 3 in the morning his discomfort reaches its peak and even my soothing words and comforting hand smoothing his hair seem to have no effect.

A soothing, ethereal light starts to emanate from Harry and he gently rises off the bed, sweat again gathers on his brow and his face scrunches up from a pain I can't see, then the light fades and Harry gently drops back onto his bed, returning to a peaceful slumber, his face once again relaxing and reflecting his innocence despite everything he has been through.

The next morning Harry is woken by the beams of the morning sun shining through the window hitting his face. I watch as Harry sits up and stretches, and then gets out of bed, stubbing his toe on the book he had fallen asleep reading. Instantly a grin stretches across his face and Harry rushes to the bathroom mirror and stares at his reflection. Once he sees his reflection, the smile drops off his face and is replaced by a confused frown. Harry rushes to his desk and rifles through the papers sitting on top until he comes across a parchment covered in an elegant green script I recognise as Dumbledore's

"H

I believe you will soon have a need for this text. Some of the transformations that take place are truly spectacular

-D"

I stand back and watch as Harry angrily rips up Dumbledore's letter angrily mumbling about interfering old coots who sacrifice little boys childhood's for 'the greater good'. Although upset by Harry's obvious disappointment in his lack of change I feel incredibly satisfied by the fact that Harry seems to have finally come to terms with the idea of the headmaster as a puppet master rather than as a genial, all-knowing, friendly grandfather figure.

Both Harry and I are disturbed from our thoughts by the appearance of a large, beautiful tropical bird, it reminds me slightly of the birds I used to send letters to Harry during the summer between his 3rd and 4th years at Hogwarts. The majestic bird is carrying an aquamarine envelope with sky blue writing on it. Harry slowly moves away from his desk where he was busy tearing up parchments – his correspondence with Dumbledore – walking towards the window to let in the mysterious bird. The bird glides into Harrys room once the window is opened, giving Harry the colourful envelope and settles down on his desk, immediately starting to nibble at Hedwigs owl treats and drink some water. Surprisingly Hedwig doesn't protest the way she always did when pig intruded and bore the tropical birds presence as if it was an honour.

Meanwhile Harry opens the envelope and pulls out a sheet of parchment:

_Mr Harry Potter_

_My name is Mago Falun and I am Headmaster of the prestigious Issabellan Academy for powerful young sorcerers and magical creatures._

_You have recently received a boost in your magic levels, and as such have registered on our role of young sorcerers in need of an education. We understand that you are currently attending a different magical academy at the moment, and while we will respect your decision if you choose to stay at Hogwarts, we strongly advise that you take us up on our offer of a position at our school where you can train in wandless magic, spell crafting, elemental magics, physical combat, duelling, dark arts and many other options that you are unable to explore in your current situation. _

_We also understand that you currently have a murderous psychopath out for your blood at the moment, however you will be perfectly safe from Voldemort while on the Academy grounds, as only current students, and members of the staff retain any knowledge of the location of the school._

_If you reject our offer, your memory will be wiped blank of any information regarding the academy for the protection of current students._

_Please indicate your intentions on the other paper that came in the envelope, and you will be treated accordingly_

_Sincerely_

_Headmaster Falun_

Looking at the other piece of paper that landed face up on the ground, I cant restrain my laughter, the options are as follows:

1. run around screaming "yes! Im a sorcerer nah-nah-nah-nah" in a childish Spice girls tune and then proceed to ignore the letter and pretend that nothing ever happened

2. tattle to ministry and risk condemnation to all sorcerers (the ministry thinks that we are a myth and will attempt to infest our armpits with the fleas of a thousand camels)

3. accept our offer and apply yourself diligently inorder to complete your sorcery education at one of the best facilities available

4. decline and continue to study under the thumb of Dumbledore – manipulative headmaster of Hogwarts, never achiving your full potential, condemned to being average for the rest of your life (wow- harsh I think…)

so review please:)


	2. Arriving at Issabellan

**Disclaimer**: HP is sooo not mine… do I look like a really rich person who lives in the northern hemisphere – wait woops u cant see me. Well btw I don't! OotP no DH

_Harry finds the slip of paper, picking it up and reading all of the options _

After Harry finished reading the parchment listing all of his options he stood still for a moment, thinking about what he is going to do. I regard Harry proudly, impressed by his level headed response to the letter. He is taking his time and not just acting on a whim because he is unimpressed with his current situation.

However I really am desperate to get Harry away from Dumbledore's influence as the man has shown a continuous disregard for my godson's happiness, safety and comfort. Even with holding important information from Harry about himself and his future. If anyone is to blame for my death in my opinion, it would be the interfering old coot! Following this line of thought and remembering how last night what I said seemed to calm Harry down I started to chant again and again "go to Issabellan Academy Harry"

Shockingly Harry paused, stopped pacing, nodded to himself and circled something on the parchment. Quickly I hurry to where I can see the parchment and nod to myself satisfied; Harry made what I believe to be a sound decision.

Now just so you know, I'm not just saying this based on my desire to get Harry away from Dumbledore. Narcissa, my cousin, actually the only member of my family I got on with, married into the Malfoy family, who have a reputation for being accepted into Issabellan. Also when I turned 17 I received an invitation, however I decided to decline and continue at Hogwarts because I did not want to say goodbye to my close friends. The curriculum at Issabellan is also more advanced and to be honest I most likely would not have been able to bluff my way through all my exams there as I did at Hogwarts. There was also the added bonus of pissing my family off by declining; looking back, some of the decisions I made might not have been incredibly sound; all the more reason to help Harry make the correct decisions and aid him in the challenges fates have made for him.

Bugger, what if I can't go with him? He can't feel my touch, what if a portkey doesn't pick it up either? I don't even know how the students at Issabellan are supposed to get there! All magical schools have different customs, what if spirits – or whatever I am – aren't allowed at Issabellan??? How am i supposed to guide him if I can't freaking see him??? I promised Lilly and Prongs Id watch over their son, I owe my godson at least that!!! I guess all I can do right now is resolve to try my hardest to follow him; and if I can't then I will simply have to find him again!!! Spirits or floating people have to have some sort of network I can use to track down a boy hero!!!

My attention is drawn back to Harry by him gasping, shocked; instantly i turn around and relax when I realize that he was just surprised when the parchment on which he chose to go to Issabellan asked him to confirm. Harry confirmed and the parchment disappeared and a reply replaced it.

_Mr Harry J. Potter_

_Thank-you for your quick response, we can guarantee you that you will not regret your decision._

_At Issabellan academy every student is required to take physical combat, and wandless magic classes, however entry into other classes will be dependent upon your skills, aptitude and power in addition to any creature inheritance you may have. Due to this you cannot purchase your books or other course equipment prior to your arrival at the academy. What you need shall be provided to you on your arrival. All of our classes are streamed, based on experience and power, as each sorcerer and/or creature has different strengths and abilities we cannot just group you all together or rather… unfortunate events will occur._

_Along with this letter is a portkey; all new students portkeys activate automatically at six am on the 7__th__ of August. Unfortunately if you miss your portkey you will be unable to attend the academy and might not be invited again next year._

_We would like to stress to you that your education at Issabellan academy will be unlike any previous experiences you have had and you should do your upmost to ensure that you will be prepared upon your arrival._

_Sincerely_

_Master S. Hannigan_

_New-student liason_

After Harry has read the reply he riffles through the rest of the information in the envelope the letter came in. Harry puts his hand inside the envelope and pulls out a badge with the school crest on it. The crest is A sword and a scimitar crossed over a potions vial. After pulling this out, Harry again reaches into the envelope and this time he pulls out what appears to be a white karate belt with a note attached to it. The note read;

"_please ensure that this belt is tied around your waist when the portkey activates – if you neglect to do so your safety cannot be ensured"_

After reading this Harry AGAIN reaches into the envelope – muttering about some Mary Poppins bag - and pulls out a colourful glossy brochure about the school. Harry then unfolds the brochure and sits down to read, every now and then exclaiming at something or other about the school.

"_...Alchemy!... Battle magics!!.... freaking hell!!! There is even necromancy!!!..."_

The note that was attached to the belt reminded me again of why i decided to decline my invitation – i thought the workload was to large – hopefully Harry will be able to apply himself better than I would have! Issabellan sure seems like an intimidating school to go to... different to anything you have experienced before... how foreboding! We don't have very long to get ready, only one week – although, I wonder what we need to get ready; the letter said that everything needed for the school was provided. I can only assume that includes the uniform???

Again I am startled out of my thoughts by Harry doing something I don't expect – if I am going to be any help to him at all I need to be able to anticipate what he is thinking so I am not caught off guard nearly so often. Harry stands up, a grin spreading across his face and announces to the empty room;

_Ï really am leaving!!! Only one week left with the Dursleys, FOREVER!!! I can control my own life and gain the experience needed to I can defeat Voldemort!!!"_

Harry then starts dashing around his room, throwing everything into two piles; one contains all of his daggy hand-me-down clothes from Dudley and the other 'provisions' the Dursleys had given him; and the other pile contains all of his school books from his years at Hogwarts, invisibility cloak, and his photo album. In the week that followed Harry and I were very busy indeed – Harry had thrown out all of the items in the first pile and only had one week to replace them!!! We went shopping all over London, in both Diagon Alley and muggle London; I never realised how amazing the Bental Centre and Harrods are!!! I have to admit I was impressed by Prongslet's hidden sense of style!!! He efficiently selected a variety of jeans, shorts, shoes and tops that flattered him and completely changed his image from neglected waif boy. However no amount of change in his clothing style could hide the fact that he was still underweight and short for his age. Finally to finish his makeover Harry got his hair styled and coloured in Diagon Alley; the styling witch grew his hair out so it hung down below his shoulders and coloured it with blue and green streaks!!! There were spells put on his hair so it would stay the same length and he would not get regrowth – simple muggle problems witches and wizards had easily solved the styling witch told Harry when he asked.

At the end of the week, on the evening of the 6th of August Harry entered the living room where his 'family' sat. Vernon and Dudley wedged onto the sofa intended for three people, and Petunia standing by the window gazing intently out of the window trying to see what Mr. And Mrs. Next door neighbour are having for dinner.

"_excuse me…"_ Harry is standing in the middle of the room, looking like the cat that ate the canary. I think I'm starting to understand his actions now… sure enough

"_just thought that I'd let you know that I'm leaving early tomorrow morning. After tonight you will never see me again and I couldn't be happier!" _

After making his statement Harry calmly walks out of the room, he hollers and runs up the stairs again taking the three at a time.

Time passes Time passes Time passes Time passes Time passes Time passes Time pases Time pases Time pases

The next morning we stand in Harry's bedroom, its fucking 6 in the morning and I was woken up by one of Dudleys old alarm clocks that was stored in this room! And I was having a great dream… Remus, I miss him!!! I'm just not much of a morning person, you'll just HAVE to forgive me I'm soo never going to forget this, I haven't been awake at six in the morning since that morning when I was fourteen and stayed at Prongs, he woke me up with a bucket of water – lets just say he never forgot my revenge and leave it at that!

Harry hardly slept last night, he was so anxious, and excited to be going to Issabellan where everything seems to be soo different! I stand right beside Harry, already grasping tightly onto the portkey. My knuckles are turning white I am holding on that tight to the badge, I just don't know what I will do if I get left behind...

The second hand on the clock seem to be ticking past at snail pace, then finally the portkey activates, and I hear Harry griping about how he hates portkeys, and their inventor should be shot… whatever he means by shot! I am so elated by the feeling of the hook behind my navel pulling me towards Issabellan I don't even care that it isn't very comfortable.

We both stumble slightly on landing, and look around! Wow, and I thought Hogwarts was magnificent! The Academy grounds are absolutely massive, there are rolling hills, and sprawling meadows out to our right, with paddocks where numerous war horses, unicorns, threstrals and pegasi were grazing. Out behind us stretched a magnificent forest, it wasn't as foreboding as the forbidden forest. Instead it had a warm and inviting feeling about it, like the forest was glad that we came. I can hear water trickling too, even though I can't see a stream, or lake I assume that there is one. In front of us, the largest and most magnificent castle stands, it is easily five times the size of Hogwarts, and has torrents, and a moat! Man we are staying in a castle with a real MOAT!! this is sooo exciting :) I can't wait to get settled in!!!

Now that I have taken in the surrounding I turn to see what Harry thinks, but instead of focussing on the Academy grounds, he appears to be taking in the other students - wow I really am oblivious, I hadn't even noticed that other new students had arrived as well, and they were mentioned in the letter from the new-student liason! I look at them to see what they are like, including Harry there are eight new students; the one standing closest to us stands tall, he has shaggy brown hair, looks to be around six feet tall, and has pointed ears - I can't help but stare in shock he is a high elf! They were meant to be extinct!!! I look at the next closest student, this one is a female, she is short, around Harry's height at five foot six, she has black hair, is incredibly tanned, and rather skinny, but in a healthy way, she has amazing blue eyes, but not the normal shade of blue, her eyes are like the ocean on a clear summer day! She must be an elemental, wow! Elementals are extremely rare, and some even have the power of empathy! The next student around from Harry is another male, he is around five foot ten, and rather heavily built, he looks like he might be a werewolf! I'm shocked that there are eight teenagers here and not one conversation going on, all of the other students bar one are standing up tall, faces blank staring straight ahead. My student examining is interrupted, as a tall, obviously powerful man strides out of the castle, his long sweeping steps bringing him closer to where we are standing, as he approaches I can tell that he is also a high elf. The man stands straight infront of the group of new arrivals, looks at each of them in turn, almost as if he is visually assessing them to determine if they are worth his time.


	3. Class timetable and new friends

My student examining is interrupted, as a tall, obviously powerful man strides out of the castle, his long sweeping steps bringing him closer to where we are standing, as he approaches I can tell that he is also a high elf. The man stands straight in front of the group of new arrivals, looks at each of them in turn, almost as if he is visually assessing them to determine if they are worth his time.

His eyes run over, the tall squinty blonde, progress to the built one with long hair, to the high elf, a spark of recognition flicker in his eyes, but I might have been mistaken, it was there for such a short period of time. This continues and each member of the group is assessed, some meeting expectations, a few even receiving a nod, but two students obviously failed to achieve what this tall domineering man saw as acceptable, they received an aggressive sneer that promised humiliation and pain…

I was happy to note that Harry wasn't one of these unfortunate ones; it was boy with bad B.O. and dude with wayyy too long hair that received these looks. I however was flooded with both disappointment and relief that I was unable to be seen by this obviously powerful man, wow confusing mix of feelings – wonder what that is all about...

Harry starts to look around, shifting uncomfortably as the scrutiny continues, (wow what an oppressive silence I think absentmindedly). The high elf coughs, and instantly the new students that had allowed themselves to relax, and take in their surroundings practically jumped to attention (heh heh, imagine one man standing in front of ten others and screaming "jump" in an aggressive tone and the others all replying in one voice "how high sir" – cuz that is kinda what it was like)

"I am your student liaison officer; you will only interrupt my already crammed schedule in cases of dire emergency. You WILL refer to me as master, or sir. You will not use my surname until I have granted you permission to do so. You will not give me any reason to seek you out, and demand rectification of any situation. And finally you WILL give me the respect that I demand."

The man pauses in his speech, levels a powerful glance at every student, again progressively making his way around the students, ensuring that each and every one of them had clearly received his message (note to self; stay away from angry elf dude). Obviously satisfied that the students understood what he meant, he continues with his 'welcoming' speech (wow they really should get someone else to welcome the students, I mean this guy really isn't all that welcoming)

"I trust that you understand you are not at this academy to make friends, you are here to learn. As such any friendships you make will be secondary to your education, while we encourage alliances to be made you should be aware of the potential of betrayal. Nothing will be sugar coated in order for the rose-tinted glasses from which you view the world to stay intact – we will not foster any innocence that you may have, nor do we encourage your fellow students to enable you to remain naïve for any long amount of time. While there will be an element of protection offered towards you in the form of the white belts you are all wearing they will be removed in one month's time. The white belts tell all upperclassmen that you are untrained in combat, and duelling situations and are under the protection of the castle, as such you will not be challenged to defend yourself."

"_While you are here, you will be put into a group, under no circumstances are you allowed to change group!_

_Each group receives a new student from every third influx of new students; you are the only student in your group at your level. The student above you has been at Issabellan Academy for three months and will be your tutor until the situation arises in which you are more advanced than your tutor in any particular subject. You will be in the group for three months before a new student arrives, at this point you will be expected to tutor and guide your groups newest member._

_Each group has a staff appointed leader, this decision will be reviewed quarterly; your group will become like your family while you are attending Issabellan Academy; you will live in the same tower, you will tutor each other and you will take all meals together. Your group is your support system – this relieves teachers of this duty and allows them to dedicate their time to helping you in a purely academic manner."_

While sir was making his 'welcoming' speech, eight other students had arrived and situated themselves so that they were directly behind one of the new students. The contrast between the new students and the ones that had been at the academy for three months was immediately obvious. Where the new students were unsure and nervous; completely reliant on their white belts to keep them safe; their older counterparts held themselves tall and proud; clearly confident in their ability to use the weapons adorning their uniform.

The tall and domineering student that stood behind Harry walked forward, tapped him on the shoulder and walked off. Harry looked around bewildered, and noticed that all the other students had done a similar thing; he also noticed that the other new comers had jumped to attention and were hurrying after their older student. Instantly Harry scrambled after his tall student (since I don't know his name yet, he is just 'tall student') frantically trying to catch up, I follow chuckling… way to make a great first impression!!!

We arrive at the school door, it is tall, strong, and appears to be incredibly heavy, yet tall student just walks up to it and pushes it open without even breaking a sweat :O!!! Harry and I both rush to both get in before the door shuts and we get stuck outside, I don't even think that even if I was in corporeal form both of us combined could open THAT door! All of the other new students I now notice were lead in completely different directions, and I can only assume that the groups all have a different section of the grounds to call 'home'! Both Harry and I look around, by this point we had obediently followed tall student into a large, empty hall, completely void of all personality, and furniture for that matter! Tall student drew out attention towards him with a dignified cough... and upon realising that they were inside the group area dropped his formal attitude and greeted Harry;

"_Hi, I'm Kendrick. Sorry about the way I greeted you back there, it's just that the level of competition in the school is so high, when we are outside our groups area everyone has a mask they use to protect themselves._

On another note; it's about time you arrived, I've been looking forward to this moment for about two months – I officially bequeath to you the title of 'newbie'!!"

The empty room echoed with the sound of tinkling laughter and Harry turned around to come face to face with what was possibly the most beautiful girl I have ever seen!!! Seeing Harrys confused face she explained why she was laughing;

"Relax, I'm not laughing at you, it's just that Kendrick's expression was almost exactly the same as yours when I told him that exact same thing!" The girl friendly extended her hand to shake hands with Harry

"My name's Michelle – I'm Kendrick's tutor – have no idea what he would have done without me!" Her tinkling laugh filled the room again "If you ever need any Kendrick stories to shut him up, I'm the girl you want to come and see"

The conversation was interrupted as another, obviously far older student walked into the room. This student appears to be around eighteen years old, and has a scimitar attached at his belt, along with numerous potion vials.

_"So you're the newbie!!! 'Bit of a runt this year... don't worry we'll soon fix that" _The older student walked over to Harry and ruffled up his already messy hair the way an older brother would giving him a welcoming smile.

"_My name is Corey, I have been at the academy for five years, I discovered I had sorcery level magic at the age of thirteen. As I have more experience than these two, feel free to come to me if you need a hand with any of your combat or duelling classes._" Corey looked down at his wrist watch and blanched... "Shit..._ I've got to run – Master Strathos will have my head if I'm late again!!!!"_

Kendrick then turned to Harry; "_Come on – there will be a bunch of people in the group common room at the moment it about lunch time, also everyone has the day off classes today – it is after all the weekend_" Harry, Kendrick and Michelle walked through the empty echoing room and up a spiral staircase hidden in a back corner of the room. The area at the top of the stairs was as different to the room at the bottom of the stairs as it could possibly be!! Instead of having a cold, empty feel the room gave off a welcoming and comforting vibe. Other students were sitting in different areas of the room, at desks helping each other with school work, playing chess; there was even a group of four students, about the same age playing Halo on an x-box!!! Michelle caught sight of another female student and hurried Harry over towards her.

_"My name is Imogene, I have been at the academy for five years, and came the intake after Corey. I was incredibly curious to meet you, I have after all heard so much about you from my cousins, Colin and Dennis Creevy. However I can assure you though, that I will not follow you around trying to take your photograph constantly"_ Imogene laughed cheerily.

Although Imogene appeared to be friendly and soft spoken, it was obvious that she would be a formidable opponent if you did anything to upset her.

_"Sorry to interrupt, such a touching moment..."_ A voice drawled from the entrance to the room. Everyone's heads snapped around, their reflexes and control was amazing (I attempted to move my head that quickly, and just succeeded in getting it to click several times, and all I got for my efforts is that now I am unable to turn my head to the left :( ) The student that had entered the hall, stood at six foot seven, the tallest person I had seen in like... forever. But not only was he tall, he was powerful, his arms that were visible through the workout singlet that he was wearing, bulged with incredibly defined muscles (AN: but in a nice way, not a body building way). He had sandy blonde hair, which fell all over his face, he had an aristocratic face, defined jaw and cheek bones - it was obvious he came from an old and powerful family.

_"My name is Gawain Malfoy. I am the highest ranked student in this group, and will be until I am challenged for my position or the staff chooses to appoint someone else. As the eldest and most experienced student in the group, your happiness, and safety is my main responsibility. As I am also working through an incredible work load within my classes, you should only trouble me on occasions when your supervisors, or any other contacts you might have are unable to help you. You will be spending the rest of the day with me, first we will eat lunch, then I will go over what every class offered here has to offer, you can ask for more information at the end of the whole description. You will then tell me what you want to achieve while at this school and I will help you select the classes you will need. I will also give you a tour around the school grounds tomorrow, describing as many aspects of the school as possible; all classes do not start until the day after that."_

Gawain then strode off towards one of the doors exiting the common area, as we passed each door he explained that the dorms, instead of being grouped by ability, as everything else was in the academy were grouped by age. As the group leader however Gawain in addition to having a bed and desk in the dorm also had a private study.

Gawain was leading Harry and I to his private study so he could give Harry a brief overview of all of the classes offered at Issabellan. Gawain got Harry to write down the names of the classes he was interested in on a piece of paper.

Battle Magicks, Duelling, Defence against the Dark Arts; physical combat; weaponry, spell crafting, transfiguration, enchantments, necromancy and rituals.

Gawain sat back in his chair shocked at the classes Harry had chosen!! And then proceeded to explain the structure of the classes.

"At Issabellan Academy, instead of having the typical structure like Hogwarts we have lines of subjects. By this I mean instead of having to take all of the core subjects you choose a strain of magic to pursue. Then instead of advancing at the same rate in all subjects in that strain you progress through them, moving to a different area of the strain only once you have mastered your current subject. For example in the 'offensive' strain you start off with physical combat  weaponry  duelling  battle magicks. Most students only pursue two different strains of magick however the subjects you have chosen contribute to three different strains*1. In addition to this we also do tests which check you for any creature inheritance or special skills which you may have. The classes to learn to control your talents and inner nature are compulsory. To discover the magical gifts that you have been given, we use a potion. The first thing that you have to do is place a drop of the potion on this parchment, and then seven drops of your blood goes on top of the potion."

I watch anxiously as Harry follows the instructions he is given, wincing slightly as he pricks his thumb with the needle Gawain gave him, this might explain what happened on his birthday!!! The parchment glows a pure, bright golden colour, levitates itself, and the sound of a quill scratching against a parchment fills the air. After about two minutes of this, the parchment slowly floats back down onto the table it lifted off, returns to the normal colour, and the sound disappears. Where there was once a sodden parchment, soaked in both blood and potion, is a dry parchment, filled with a neat, orderly script, stating that Harry (my little talented boy - awww! he's soo talented) has inherited quite a few incredible gifts.

**Elemental control**

FIRE - strong control, can fully manipulate

EARTH - limited/no control

WATER - limited/no control

AIR - limited/no control

**Creature Inheritance**

1/4 High Elf

1/2 fae

1/4 dark veela

_Status:_ Submissive

**Mind control**

Empathy - not present

Legilmacy - strong control

Occlumency - moderate control

Telekinesis - not present

Telepathy - moderate control (with established connections)

**Language Control**

Parseltoungue - strong control

Beast speech - moderate (only with certain species)

International Tongue - moderate (only certain nationalities)

After looking at the piece of parchment, both Harry and I are shocked into silence. Gawain, seeing this speaks;

"While by ordinary standards you have incredible talents and a very interesting bloodline, all students at Issabellan are hand chosen by the selection crew and as such your abilities will be seen as a little above average. However you will need to start certain classes as soon as possible; these classes include; creature studies and elemental control"

Harry would have a few lectures in his fourth month at the academy on telepathy, but would have to primarily figure that out through independent studies with classmates, and his supervisors. In his later years at the academy Harry would be offered entrance into the advanced foreign relation classes, as due to his international tongue Harry would be advantaged if he decided to become a diplomat later on in life. Gawain then enrolled Harry in his chosen magickal strains. His time table ran on a weekly basis, and he would begin his studies with the other students from his intake until he completed the work for that level of the strain, at which point he would be advanced into the next subject.

**Period times**

Breakfast – starts 6:30am

Period 1 - starts7:30- ends10:30 - Offensive

Morning Tea - starts 10:30 ends 11

Period 2 Starts 11; ends 2 – Spell Crafter

**Lunch** starts 2; ends 3

**Period 3** starts 3 ends 6 - Communication

Dinner starts 6:30 ends 7:30

**Period 4** starts 7:30 ends 8:30 - Compulsory studies

Dorm lights out at 11pm

Both Harry and I were astonished by how loaded his timetable was!!!

Gawain, after receiving the timetable, and going through it with Harry; lead him (and in turn me) to the dorm that we will be living in for the next five years of Harrys life! Wow, hope that some of the people in the room are nice to him maybe Kendrick will be in the dorm...

AN: I tried to make this chapter a bit longer, cuz I realised that the others were a bit short. let me know what you think, one of the characters introduced in this chapter might get into a relationship with Harry, so maybe you guys should let me know what you think, because I also have some other ideas, but if you like the description of one of these characters, then that could work. Also I realised that the Academy system could be a bit confusing, so I decided to try to explain it a bit

**Overview of the Academy system:**

Every month, eight new students are admitted into the academy, they are from all over the world. Each group, gets one new student every third month. Each group has roughly one student from every standard, each group has a leader, most experienced student in that group. Students stay at the academy for either five years or seven years, depending on their course load - the students that stay for seven years are the more talented ones, which take on a larger amount of courses, and masteries. They also generally have more gifts that they need to learn to control.


	4. Dinner time

_Last time:_

_Gawain, after receiving the timetable, and going through it with Harry; lead him (and in turn me) to the dorm that we will be living in for the next five years of Harrys life! Wow, hope that some of the people in the room are nice to him maybe Kendrick will be in the dorm..._

To get to the Dorm room, Gawain led Harry and I back the way we came and through the group common room. Again Harry paused to marvel at the freedom with which the students managed their own time and was shocked by the absence of the typical student, rushing frantically to finish their assignment the day before classes started!!! How was it that in the whole group, not one student had procrastinated to the point that their work was a rushed piece of mess?? Instead of taking one of the other entrances on the left side of the common room, Gawain lead us to the single door on the right side of the common room. As we crossed the room Gawain explained that the dorm rooms were all on the right side of the tower and only single student rooms were on the left. Once you had been at the school longer and became more advanced in your studies, students could apply to the staff to get their own room for practical reasons, for example a student studying rituals would have to conduct certain rituals at specific times which could be disruptive to other students if they were in a shared room.

By the time all this had been explained we were standing at the foot of a stone staircase; looking up the staircase, it seemed as if it went on forever!!! Gawain started walking up the staircase and his brief look back at Harry communicated that it was going to be a long walk. After about 3 minutes of plodding up stairs, Harry realised that they had not passed a single door in the walls on either side of the staircase and started to wonder exactly how long the walk was going to be!!! However Gawain stopped and reached out, he located the stone 3 bricks away from the candle on the wall and 2 bricks above it. Gawain ran his wand tip horizontally along the stone and a door appeared. Gawain explained that only the students in the dorm and his own wand would open the door to the dorm and that this was a safety feature added in case students from other groups managed to find their way into the group's private area, Gawain also mentioned that all other students who were staying in the dorm would be inside, as required, in order for them to meet the newest addition to the group. After this explanation Gawain gestured to Harry that he should open the door and enter his new home and meet the people who he would come to rely on for support.

Green... it seemed like the whole room was green, a lush, verdant green! I walked into the room beside Harry and my first impression was GREEN!!! Upon closer inspection i realised that no, the room was not painted a shockingly green colour but instead every exposed surface had been covered by lush, vibrant greenery. There was ivy growing up the walls and on the posts of all the beds, instead of a carpet on the floor there was a layer of the worlds softest grass coating the ground!!!

Situated around the jungle-like room there were ten queen size beds, nine of the beds had a person sitting on it, waiting to meet Harry; Kendrick, Michelle and Imogene were all sitting on their respective beds. At Issabellan academy the dorms were not gender specific as the staff members did not feel like it was their job to baby-sit their students and that if the student was powerful enough to be invited into the academy, they should be responsible enough to manage themselves appropriately in all situations, after all, if the school didn't acknowledge friendships, why would they expect other relationships to arise??? However the males were on one side of the room and the females on the other, Harry's bed is the one on the far right of the male side of the room. The decoration of the dorm was then explained as Harry and I looked around to see the other students he would be rooming with; the student on the bed directly to the left of Harry's was a tall, slender male with the most brilliant green eyes, almost like Harry's; but where Harry's eyes were the abrupt green colour of the killing curse, this boys eyes were a deeper green, almost exactly the same shade as the lush greenery layering the room. The green eyed boy was obviously an earth elemental specialising in botanic growth, he introduced himself as Mickhael and explained that he was indeed an elemental fae*; the next bed over was occupied by a very petite boy, he was around the same height as Harry and had a delicate bone structure, the boy looked stunning, however he could not be described as handsome, if asked for a word describing how he looked one would have to answer 'beautiful', the petite boy introduced himself as Kale, a submissive dark veela who had yet to find his mate. The last bed on the male side of the room belonged to Francis, a tall, powerful, incredibly muscular dominant high elf. Francis was easily the tallest in the room, standing at around 6ft 5!! He didn't look incredibly tall, just large, however somehow his massive size seemed to fit in perfectly in the room. Moving across to the females side of the room, Harry saw Imogine and Michelle, along with three other girls; Claire, Francesca and Alex. Claire is a submissive light veela (like Fleur); Francesca, like Mackhael is an elemental fae, however her vibrant blue eyes reveal that her element is water, and her tall, powerful stature reveales, that unlike Mackael, Francesca is dominant. Finally Alex, a human madge took the bed directly opposite Harrys; Alex is dressed in baggy jeans and has short, cropped hair – she is clearly a tomboy.

After everyone had introduced themselves Harry sat down and began to talk to them, there wasn't much time until dinner so he didn't really get to know anyone particularly well but did learn that the first class after the new intake was that night after dinner. Everyone except for Harry and Kendrick were attending compulsory studies, however Kendrick was to take Harry down to the entrance hall where Harry would receive all the equipment he needs for the studies he has chosen and for compulsory studies.

Sooner than I assume Harry would like, Francesca, upon checking her watch announces that the group only has five minutes to make it to dinner. Dinner every night is in the group common room which magically transforms itself into a dining hall at 6:30, all students not in the room by 6:35 would not be served dinner and would have to wait until breakfast to eat their next meal!!! Something none of the starving, growing students wanted to suffer. I was glad I wasn't corporeal when in the next instance all ten of the students were thundering towards where I stood at the door! They swiftly ran right through me and headed down the staircase, however instead of sounding like a herd of elephants thundering down the stairs, it was oddly quiet given that ten teenagers were charging towards food!! They all slowed right down at the door as they didn't want the older students to know that they lost track of time; Harry was the only one slightly out of breath from the run down the stairs! The group gathered themselves together and entered the common room slash dining room, I was astounded by the remarkable change in the room and judging from the expression on Harry's face, so was he; where the sofas, TV, X-box and study desks had been before there was a single large round table surrounded by students of all ages. However unlike at Hogwarts each students meal was closely monitored and selected for them by one of the schools many nutritionists. As soon as each student sat down their specific meal appeared on the table in front of them! I was very impressed, the house elves must really be on the ball to be able to know which student sat where and send their meal up that quickly! The differences in the meals was quite obvious, the larger, dominant students had far larger meals than the smaller submissive students, and the meals were obviously catered to magical creatures, one of the older students, obviously a werewolf devoured a rare steak, sitting next to a fae who hungrily munched away on an incredibly healthy salad!!!

Dinner was incredibly different to how it was at Hogwarts, instead of the students just sitting with their select group of friends the whole group was far more social, with the older students and younger students chatting and helping each other. The circle table meant that practically anyone at the table could talk to whoever they wanted to. Chuckling to myself I look at Harry's bewildered expression as he sees how the older students are helping the younger ones, and the group mentality which just isn't present in any of the houses at Hogwarts. During the course of dinner, Harry had another chat with Corey, Gawain, Kendrick, Imogene and also met 5 other students in the group, all from different intakes!! Granted I could see the odd student who just wasn't interested in helping others, or really being part of the group at all, but compared to the many smiling faces at the table, those surly students were definitely the minority.

Sooner than we realised the clock turned 7:20 and everyone got up to start getting ready for their evening class, with some of the older students going to do private study. Kendrick walked towards Harry and the pair of them stood up and headed down to the entrance hall.

The pair seemed to have to shortage of things to talk about on the way down to the entrance hall, from Kendricks pet goanna he has at home, to Harry's old goofy glasses and why he chose those weird frames...

My first Poll:

Clearly the story can't really include all of the people in the dorm, however i wanted to introduce them all and then give you a choice. Who should Harry be friendliest with???

Kendrick – Harry's tutor

Michelle – Kendricks tutor

Imogene Creevey

Mickhael – earth elemental fae

Kale – submissive dark veela (unmated)

Francis – Dominant High Elf (male)

Claire – submissive light veela (unmated)

Francesca – dominant elemental water fae (unmated)

Alex(andra) – tomboy – human Madge


End file.
